Home is Where the Tax Breaks Are
Buying a home, making home improvements, doing business out of the home or moving for business may make tax time less taxing—especially if you’re able to partially write off eligible expenses.
Homeowners
Purchasing a home, townhouse or condo has its perks. To take advantage of potential tax breaks, you’ll need Form 1040, Schedule A and most likely an accountant to help you properly access your mortgage interest and any points you paid to receive or refinance a loan.
Home Improvements
You can receive tax credits by installing qualified energy generating systems such as geothermal heat pumps, solar water heaters, solar panels, small wind turbines to your main or vacation home. You can also receive a 30% credit on the cost of labor needed to install these energy-efficient home improvements.
Home Business
Self-employed principals who use a portion of the home for business can itemize certain deductions on line 30 of Form 1040 Schedule C, Profit or Loss From Business. This can get quite complicated so keep those receipts and consult an accountant.
Movers
If you moved during the previous year for work reasons, you may be able to deduct a variety of relocation-related expenses including packing costs; fees to connect and/or disconnect your utilities; even traveling costs for you and your pets. If you use a professional service such as Golan’s Moving and Storage, you may also be able to expense both moving costs and storage unit rental fees.
Before you claim any of these deductions, it’s best to check with an accountant and the IRS at www.IRS.gov.